I have used them only once in 2003, plane was going to be delayed by 1 hour, not a problem, we boarded sat on the plane for a further 2 hours while they tried to get somebody to pay for fuel.
We then arrived at Barcelona 3hrs late and then waited for over 2 hours for our luggage to be put on to the luggage reclaim carousel, allegedly the baggage handlers refused to touch the luggage as they had not been paid by the company previously.
Due to arriving late at Barcelona we hit the rush hour traffic and arrived at our hotel 7hrs late.

We were lucky on our return flight, we got our flight back to Glasgow with only a 2 hr delay. Many others including some friends of ours were told that because the plane being used for the return flight was a smaller plane than we had flown out on they were having to change.
They left the hotel 7 hrs earlier than us, were then flown to Luton where they had to wait for a connecting flight to Glasgow, they didn't get back to Glasgow until 2 AM the next morning, a total of 18hrs travelling.
We left the hotel 7 hrs after them and including a 2hr delay arrived home several hours before them.
Some of the other passangers were also flown to Aberdeen then taken by bus back to Glasgow.

Although AirScotland have their own planes we were never actually on one.

This is only my experience on the one time I have used them and I am sure many other people have had no problems with them.

Graham

Ally .... check the timings to ensure that it's not an unusually long flight duration. For example, some of their Glasgow/Alicante services have in the past operated via Edinburgh or Malaga.

David

Air Scotland currently only have a single Boeing 757 in service.

I have booked with Airscotland from Edinburgh to go to Malaga 23rd oct,2nd week of school holidays.I paid £260 for the 4 of us.

Checked the flight times David seems ok. We had that problem before on a late deal was terrible. Do you know much about them Jules ,is this your first time with them?

This is a quote from their website http://www.airscotland.com

Does Air Scotland require an ATOL (Air Travel Organisers Licence)?

As Air Scotland is a trading name of Greece Airways, which is a fully licensed European airline, it is not required to hold an ATOL to sell and issue tickets for any flight it operates from or to the UK.

As the airline, Greece Airways guarantee to carry the passengers or alternatively refund them the money, which they pay to it if carriage is not possible. Seats, which are sold by Air Scotland/Greece Airways, are not protected by ATOL nor in deed require such protection.

Does that mean if the Airline collapses passengers would not receive their money back or if they were abroad at the time they would have to pay for their flights home ?

Does that mean if the Airline collapses passengers would not receive their money back or if they were abroad at the time they would have to pay for their flights home ?

Yes basically. But not too much to worry about. All schedueld flights are non ATOL covered. Whether it be British Airways, Ryanair, easyJet or Air Scotland.

psr777 what do you mean about one plane in operation ? Is it the type your talking about? David been back on the winter timetable does fly Glasgow via Edinburgh but the summer one has more flights. Excellent price don,t you think?

Alexa

psr777 - whats happened to the other 757 then? Did not know that they are operating only 1. Are you sure?

Nivsy

Just a few days ago, Air Scotland made an announcement with regard to route and fleet expansion.

The chairman confirmed that two Tristar L1011-500s had been added, with negotiations underway to acquire a further two smaller aircraft for European routes.

Proposals for route expansion from Scotland to Miami, New York, Havana and Toronto were also announced.

Full details of the statement can be found HERE.

David

Air Scotland/Greece Airways had leased another 757 to add to its programme last summer. This was then returned, during the winter they have only operated with 1 aircraft.

This gives more background about the airline:

http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/2068127/4/

Make your own mind up !!

No I have not used them before, getting a little worried, I know I would be covered with my credit card if all went wrong but what about accomodation does anyone know if I would be covered also if I paid for the accomodation with my visa card if the flights were cancelled.Don't want to have to pay for accomodation I can't use!Any advice?

jules, most good Travel Insurance policies will cover you for that. You shouldn't really travel without one anyway. I think you'll be fine, Air Scotland had a rough time when they started out with a few bad leases etc but seem to have sorted themselves out now and things run smoothly.

The 2 new short haul aircraft are apparently going to be 2 737s to replace the single 757.

The new long haul services, well we'll wait and see. I wish Air Scotland all the best and hope they succeed but a Lebanese company acquiring 3 Tristars to put on the Greek register to fly under Greece Airways AOC as Air Scotland. Thought they would have learned their lesson about dodgy leases. If they really are Air Scotland, why dont they go ahead and get a UK Air Operators Certificate?

Jules,

Don't mean to make you worried at all. Just think that everyone should be aware of what they are booking and who they are booking with.

I happen to work at Glasgow Airport and my company leased them an aircraft 18 months ago to accommodate their programme . Yes Air Scotland had some major issues last year, lots of delays etc., but his happens with an airline with limited resources ie no spare aircraft etc.

The owner of Air Scotland/Greece Airways has just announce they are also in talks to fly to Iraq via Stanstead.

They are basically a start up airline that has had teething problems, all the major charter airlines suffered the same fate when they began operations, it is the nature of our industry.

The cabin crew are local to Glasgow and the service I am sure will be of the same kind of standard you could expect of any of the UK charter operators on a short haul route.

Again, ENJOY yourself on holiday.

Thanks for the replies, I'm sure it will be fine.

I see that Air Scotland are doing a promotion in The Sun newspaper today. We,ve booked ours for September and fingers crossed everything goes ok. Hope it does because they would be an extra choice for us travellers in Scotland who always seem to have to pay more for holidays. Thanks for all your input'

Alexa

I read yesterday in the travel press that air scotland are applying to star operating from glasgow to Baghdad!!!! honest.

More details on that one HERE.

David

Just put in the promotion codes in the Sun today and flights are £150 cheaper.Never mind guess it,s sods law. Still pleased with the price we got.

Alexa